Professor Andy Parrott
is an international authority on the human psychobiology of MDMA or Ecstasy. He has published
numerous research papers on its recreational use, including the first to
demonstrate memory impairments in young Ecstasy/MDMA users compared to similar
aged controls. These research findings have been presented at numerous
conferences in the UK and
mainland Europe, Australia, Canada, and USA. He has been invited to present
research seminars at many universities, including Yale and Harvard. He has
written a number of widely-cited review articles, organized severalinternational symposia, and edited various
academic journals dedicated to Ecstasy/MDMA research.

Professor Andy
Parrott’s other main field of research expertise is the psychobiology ofnicotine
dependency. In an extensive research program, he has shown how cigarette
smoking causes increased stress and
depression. Furthermore the explanatory model of nicotine dependency which he
has proposed, explains why cigarette smoking can generate so many psychological
problems in smokers. These findings have been presented in numerous journal
articles and conference papers.

In total, he has over
300 journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers. They cover the main
classes of psychoactive drug, including CNS stimulants such as amphetamine, CNS
depressants such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, antipsychotic drugs for
schizophrenia, antidepressants, cognitive enhancers, anabolic steroids, and
recreational drugs such as cannabis, LSD and ketamine. He has also written a
leading European textbook on this area, published by John Wiley, entitled:
‘Understanding Drugs and Behaviour’, with co-authors Andy Scholey, Alun
Morinan, and Mark Moss.

The first Ecstasy/MDMA review article in Neuropsychobiology was published in
2000, and was based on the first Novartis Foundation symposium meeting.

The second review in 2001 was a more
comprehensive review, which attempted to cover human MDMA research from the
very first studies 15 years earlier. It presents a broad overview of the area,
and remains in the top ten list of cited articles from the journal Human Psychopharmacology.

The 2002 article covered the serotonin syndrome,
and was the second most highly cited paper for the journal Pharmacology Biochemistry, and Behaviour, that year.

In one of our earliest studies, we administered
the Cognitive Drug Research test battery to abstinent Ecstasy/MDMA users and
nonuser controls.On most tasks the
groups were very similar, but on immediate and delayed word recall, the Ecstasy
users were significantly impaired. There was a prior clinical report from America of
memory problems in some heavy users of Ecstasy, but this was the first empirical
demonstration of cognitive/memory impairments in Ecstasy users compared to
controls. Professor Andy Parrott and his team of co-workers (Alex Lees, Dr.
Miranda Jones, Natasha Garnham, and Professor Keith Wesnes of CDR), were
awarded a prize from British Association for Psychopharmacology for their 1998
journal paper.

This initial report of memory deficits was
confirmed in a follow-up study undertaken by Joanna Lasky. This Psychopharmacology article remains one
of their most highly cited papers. In a series of further investigations,
Professor Parrott’s group at the University of East London (UEL), where he was
then based, investigated the nature of these cognitive/memory changes in more
detail. The studies involved a wide variety of cognitive tasks, covering skills
such as executive planning, visual vigilance, psychomotor integrity, and
different aspects of memory. This programme was co-led by Dr. John Turner,
research collaborator and Senior Lecturer at UEL. Their first postgraduate
research student in this area, Helen Fox, undertook a number of ground-breaking
studies. Helen compared regular Ecstasy users who complained of drug-related
problems, with an equivalent group of Ecstasy users who did not complain of any
drug-related problem. Against predictions, the cognitive/memory scores for
these two groups were very similar. Memory deficits were evident, but these
were related to the amount of Ecstasy taken, irrespective of whether the
individual complained of problems. Helen and her supervisors (AP and JT) were
awarded the BAP prize in 2002 for the resulting Journal of Psychopharmacology paper.Helen then established links with Barbara
Sahakian's Neuropsychology Group at CambridgeUniversity. She
administered the Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB) heavy Ecstasy users
and controls, in assess whether their overall cognitive profiles matched those
of any of Sahakian’s neurosurgery patient groups. Her data suggested a very
close match with temporal lobe and amygdalo-hippocampal patients. Following her
PhD, Helen was appointed as postdoctoral researcher at YaleUniversity,
where she has been investigating the psychobiology of cocaine.

At SwanseaUniversity, the effects
of MDMA have been compared with those of cannabis. Some of the review papers
have involved close collaboration with Professor Efi Gouzoulis-Mayfrank from KolnUniversity
in Germany.
Other empirical studies have been undertaken as part of Jacqui Rodgers’ www
Internet group (listed below in that section). Recently we investigated EEG and
memory, in a collaborative study with Professor Adrian Burgess (Swansea webpage). In this
pilot study, significant reductions in EEG theta power were evident in the
abstinent Ecstasy/MDMA, compared to non-users controls, during the performance
of memory tasks. Further EEG studies are currently being planned.

Parrott
AC (1996). MDMA, mood and memory: the agnosia of the Ecstasy. Annual Scientific
Meeting of the Psychobiology Section of the British Psychological Society,
September 1996. British Psychological Society Proceedings (2007), 5,
p49.

In our very first Ecstasy study, undertaken by
Darren Davison in 1992-3, recreational MDMA users were given
structured interviews which covered their psychological and physiological
experiences, on-drug and off-drug. They also completed a mood adjective checklist
to describe their feelings on-Ecstasy. They were followed in subsequent years
by a number of further studies, by Malcolm Stuart and others.

In 2000, Dr Jacqui Rodgers from NewcastleUniversity initiated the establishment
of a WWW group for memory/cognitive research involving Ecstasy and other drug
users. The group comprised Dr. Tom Buchanan (WestminsterUniversity), Dr. Jonathan Ling (KeeleUniversity),
Dr. Brian Tiplady (Astra-Zeneca), Prof. Andy Scholey and Dr. Tom Heffernan (NorthumbriaUniversity),
and Prof. Andy Parrott (SwanseaUniversity). The www
approach allows very large samples to be assessed. This has allowed us to
undertake a number of studies into self-rated memory and cognition, and the
influence of dancing/exercise and thermal comfort, on mood states and cognitive
integrity.Fro instance, in 2006, we
reported that memory problems were most evident in those clubbers who danced
the most while on-drug. Thermal comfort when on-drug were also associated with
the extent of psychobiological problems being self-reported.

We have undertaken several studies into the psychological
well-being and psychiatric status of young recreational Ecstasy users. Elaine
Sisk assessed youngsters from a town in Ireland where recreational drug use
was extensive. The heavy Ecstasy user groupreported a wide range of psychiatric symptoms, while the lighter Ecstasy
user group was also impaired on some scales. Margherita Milani undertook an
extensive investigation of several hundred young people from Rome,
Padua, and London,
while Rishee Parmar assessed a smaller group from Manchester. Self-rated levels of psychiatric
distress were found to be significantly associated with greater polydrug usage
(i.e. not just ecstasy). Several types of psychiatric symptom were more
prevalent in those who have taken various illicit drugs, with heavy Ecstasy
polydrug users often reporting many problems. Positive life experiences were
also systematically recorded, but they were not associated with drug usage.
Margherita Rafaella Milani is now a full-time lecturer at ThamesValleyUniversity, where she is
continuing her psychopharmacological research.

Kirstie Soar undertook a series of studies into
the clinical well-being of heavy MDMA users, some of whom complained of
drug-related problems. Kirstie has also reviewed the literature on clinical
case studies. Since award of her PhD, Kirstie has been employed as a full-time
Lecturer in the Psychology Department at the University of East London.

In 1997, we tested a group of recreational drug
users before they went out dancing/clubbing, at the club following
self-administered drug, then 2 days and 7 days afterwards. The aim was to
prospectively monitor any changes in self-rated mood states and cognitive
skills over time. The moods of the control group, mostly social drinkers, were
steady over the week. They reported having a good time at the dance club, and
few adverse effects 2 and 7 days later. In contrast the moods of the Ecstasy
users fluctuated markedly over time. They reported excellent moods at the club
- although not significantly better
than controls. Midweek they reported numerous adverse moods, some of which were
quite severe. Cognitive skills were assessed on a hand held microcomputer, and
significant memory impairments were evident at every session, probably due to
their regular use of MDMA.

Following the first study in London,
this area of research has been continuing at Swansea. Lucy Young assessed three groups of
dance clubbers: Ecstasy/MDMA users, those who had used Ecstasy previously but
who had not taken it on that evening, and never-users as the controls. Body
temperature and thermal self-ratings were significantly higher in the current
Ecstasy users, and were also raised to a lesser extent in the abstinent
group.Adverse mood profiles during the
post-MDMA recovery period were also confirmed. Next year Jake Lock undertook
the world’s first within-group study of Ecstasy-user dance clubbers on-MDMA,
compared to clubbing off-MDMA. This prospective study of MDMA abstinence,
involved saliva samples for the determination of MDMA. When clubbing on MDMA,
cortisol levels increased by around 800%. This was confirmed in a two later
studies.

In another www article with Jacqui Rodgers, we
noted how more memory problems were reported by those who danced the most while
on MDMA. The close links between Ecstasy and dance clubbing have been debated
in two review articles. The 2002 paper outlined how acute doses of MDMA can
cause an acute reaction with many parallels with the serotonin syndrome. The
2004 paper debated the psychobiological implications of taking MDMA in hot and
crowded conditions, such as those found in dance clubs and raves.These studies have involved close
collaboration with Professor Johannes Thome and Dr. Christian Kissling from the
MedicalSchool
at SwanseaUniversity.

2001."The
Neuropsychopharmacology of MDMA (Ecstasy)". CanadianCollege
of Neuropsychopharmacology and British Association for Psychopharmacology
Conference, International Conference Centre. BanffCanada.

The cigarette smoking research is primarily
concerned with the adverse effects of nicotine on mood and cognition. Many
research groups state that smoking helps with mood control. However in an
extensive series of studies, Prof. Andy Parrott has shown the central role of
psychobiological vacillation, so that tobacco smoking can actually cause many
forms of psychological distress. Cigarette smokers only feel 'normal'when replete with nicotine, and in-between
cigarettes their moods soon deteriorate. The apparent mood gains of smoke
inhalation, only represent the temporary return to psychological normality. In
between cigarettes, smokers experience increasing levels of psychobiological
distress, with frequent cravings. Nicotine dependency therefore directly causes
smokers to experience greater moodiness, irritability,anger and depression each day. This helps to
explain why adolescent smokers become more
stressed a year after they have taken up smoking. Also why adult smokers are
significantly more stressed than
adult nonsmokers. Finally, quitting smoking gradually leads to reduced stress - after the immediate
post-cessation period of strong cravings has subsided. Nicotine dependency also
causes memory problems, so your memory should also improve once you quit.

There are some simple messages for tobacco smokers.
Firstly, do not smoke. The tar and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoking will
soon damage your heart and lungs. The adverse effects on breathing can be
measuring within a few months of taking-up smoking. Your skin will become
wrinkly, and impaired blood supply to the penis may lead to impotence. These
adverse medical effects may kill you. The probability of a smoker dying from a
tobacco-related disease is around 50%. In psychological terms, nicotine
dependency will cause you to feel moody, irritable and stressed, each day.

My advice is to quit immediately. Your physical
health will start to recover within a few weeks. Over successive months your
breathing and health will continue to improve. You will feel much better. Your
chances of heart disease and cancer will drop dramatically. The long-term
health benefits of cessation are well documented.

What is less well known is that your psychological well-being will also
improve after quitting. These mood improvements will take between a few
weeks and several months to occur, depending on the severity of your
dependency. It will be a gradual process, so you will need to persevere.
Initially you may suffer from strong cravings every day, and increased stress
for several weeks, but these problems will gradually disappear over time. Once
you have permanently quit – you will feel less moody, less irritable, more
contented, and less prone to depression.

The original studies which led to the above
model, investigated the mood effects of cigarettes smoked over the day. Smokers
went about their normal activities, and smoked cigarettes normally. Before each
cigarette they complete a brief mood scale to indicate their current feelings
of stress, arousal, and pleasure. Then immediately after each cigarette, they
complete the same mood scale. This design allowed the effects of each cigarette and every period of abstinence, to be determined. This novel
methodology revealed that smokers suffered repeated mood deteriorations
in-between cigarettes, and transitory mood improvements immediately after
smoking. Heavy smokers reported the worst mood states in between cigarettes,
but also the greatest mood normalization, which explains why their 'need' for
cigarettes was strongest.

In later studies, we compared the daily mood
patterns of cigarette smokers and nonsmokers.They provided comparative data on the daily moods experienced by
cigarette smokers and nonsmokers. Some studies were conducted during the day,
from breakfast to bedtime. Others were conducted with night shift workers. It
was found that non-deprived smokers were generally similar to nonsmokers, whereas
deprived smokers were significantly worse than either group. Thus smoking
simply allowed normal/average moods to be maintained. Nicotine did not provide
any real mood gains, whereas abstinent smokers suffered from increased stress,
depression, and irritability. Furthermore, in some situations (e.g. night
shift-workers), the moods of the active smokers were significantly worse than those of the nonsmokers.

It has been suggested that nicotine is a cognitive
enhancer, so that cigarettes provide smokers with a positive resource to boost
their alertness. The empirical evidence for this notion is however very weak.
We have therefore included cognitive tasks in many of our studies. In most
studies, we found that the cognitive skills of deprived smokers were impaired,
whereas the cognitive skills of the non-deprived smokers were similar to those
of the nonsmokers. We have found some limited evidence for cognitive gains in
smokers, although the evidence was not consistent, and generally we found no
cognitive gains. Our overall conclusion is that although nicotine is potentially a cognitive enhancer, due to
tolerance, regular smokers do not actually gain any real cognitive advantages
from nicotine. Their cognitive abilities fluctuate – in a way similar to their
mood states. So that they need regular hits of nicotine just to maintain normal
levels of cognitive functioning. In Parrott (1998), I suggested that cognition
was slightly improved post-cigarette, but then deteriorated in-between
cigarettes, so that over the day cognition remained broadly neutral. Some of
the relevant papers are listed in the above sections.

In the early 1970s, Nesbitt described a paradox
which has confounded nicotine/smokingresearchers for many years. Namely, how can cigarettes make smokers feel
more alert and more relaxed at the same time ? Andy
Parrott's research has offered a simple resolution for the Paradox. Abstinence
makes the smoker less alert and more stressed/irritable. Smoke inhalation
restores these moods to normal - for a brief period. Nesbitt's Paradox simly
reflects the relief of unpleasant abstinence effects. No actual gains in
alertness or relaxation are involved.

Since nicotine withdrawal leads to mood
impairments in regular smokers, this raises the question of how long it takes
for these psychobiological deficits to develop. Received wisdom was that it
could take 12-24 hours for abstinence symptoms to be apparent, but there was
very little empirical data on this question - tobacco companies are not
interested in this particular question! In our first study, Natasha Garnham
investigated the cognitive skills and moods states of abstinent smokers, at two
hour intervals over the day. Significant deficits were apparent from the first
session onwards, with symptoms tending to worsen as the period of abstinence
lengthened. Jo Thurkle and Mark Wardcovered the first three hours of abstinence, and found impairments at
every session. Significant cognitive/mood abstinencesymptoms occurred after just one hour without
nicotine. We have also looked at mood control in psychiatric patients, finding
that they experience severe abstinence symptoms after brief periods without
cigarettes. In our most recent study, Mark Slater assessed abstinence symptoms
under two conditions: environmental stressor (difficult problem solving), and
environmental relaxation (soothing music); abstinence symptoms became
significantly worse during the high stressor condition. Debbie Craig and Jo-Ann
Coomber compared the effects of temporary abstinence from cigarettes, at two
different stages of the menstrual cycle. Abstinence symptoms were far stronger
pre-menstrually than mid-cycle, when female smokers also reported less
difficulty in abstaining.

Nicotine substitution devices have been
developed to help people quit smoking. In an aelry series of studies, we
investigated the cognitive performance effects of 2mg and 4mg nicotine gum,
placebo gum, and normal cigarette smoking. Debbie Craig also established two
smoking cessation clinics at health centers inEast London, where the utility of the
nicotine gum was assessed. The most intriguing finding to emerge, was that
self-rated feelings of stress were significantly reduced in those who quit
smoking. This helped Andy Parrott to recognize the damaging effects of nicotine
dependency.

Parrott
A.C., Thurkle J. Ward M. (2000). Nicotine abstinence: time course of the mood
and cognitive performance changes over 3 hours. 22nd International Congress of
the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum, Brussels July 2000. International Journal of
Neuropsychopharmacology….

Other
Psychoactive drugs

Caffeineuse by day-shift workers
and night-shift workers was investigated by Miranda Jones as part of her PhD.
Other studies in her resaeh porgremmme involved nicotine use in shift workers.
Some of these studies were supported by Unilever, who also provided the matched
supplies of caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages.

Jones MEE, Parrott AC, Wesnes K (1997). The
effects of caffeinated and decaffeinated tea and coffee on mood and cognition
in shift workers. Paper presented at Annual Scientific Meeting of the
Psychobiology Section of the British Psychological Society. British
Psychological Society Proceedings.

Jones
MEE, Parrott AC, Wesnes K (1997). The effects of caffeinated and decaffeinated
beverages on cognitive performance, heart rate, and mood in shift workers.
Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Association for
Psychopharmacolgy. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 12, A42.

Anabolic
steroideffects on human aggression were first investigated by
Precilla Choi, when she was an undergraduate student at UEL. She continued her
work at University College London, NottinghamUniversity, and KeeleUniversity,
and became a world leader in the field of research, prior to her untimely
death. Clive Wilson-Fearon undertook a prospective anabolic steroid case study
involving a "Mr. Universe" competitor, who was monitored for six
months prior to, and during the actual competition.

Cannabis
has been investigated in a number of studies. The first to be undertaken by
Andy Parrott were at HumboldtStateUniversity
in Northern California, when he held a
Fulbright Fellowship.Most of the
cannabis papers involved comparisons with MDMA, and are therefore listed in
those sections.

Alcohol
was investiagated by Vered Murgraff, when she investigated
the effects of "risky single occasion drinking" or binge drinking in
young people, as part of her PhD. We have also found that smoking is associated
with reduced memory ability.

Ketaminehas been increasingly
used as a recreational drug in recent years. Ketamine is a dissociative
anaesthetic with powerful neurochemicaleffects, and may cause long-lasting neuronaldamage. Helena Hamilton has assessed the
cognitive integrity of drug-free ketamine abusers, in a collaborative study
with Keith Wesnes’ Cognitive Drug Research in Reading.

These studies were conducted when Andy Parrott
was Senior Psychologist at the Institute
of Naval Medicine, Gosport
Hampshire. The aim of the program was to recommend an effective drug for
protection against sea-sickness, which displayed the least sedative profile of
side-effects. The studies included the first placebo-controlled human
performance studies undertaken at sea.

The follow studies were undertaken at LeedsUniversity.
The earliest studies were undertaken during an MRC-funded PhD entitled:
‘Concentration in Chronic Schizophrenia’. Later studies were conducted on
benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antihistamines, and other drug types. These
were undertaken when Andy Parrott was employed as a research assistant, then
research fellow, to Professor Ian Hindmarch’sHuman Psychopharmacology Research Group to Leeds.
Many of these studies involved the development of the Leeds Sleep Evaluation
Questionnaire (Leeds SEQ).

Parrott AC, Munton A
(1981). Comparative effects of clobazam and diazepam upon psychological
performance under different levels of background noise. Royal Society of Medicine International Symposium Series, 43,
53-­57.